Beloved borderlands pastor ‘Chuy’ Gallegos Blanco dies at 63

He served churches and coordinated a PC(USA) border ministry in Arizona and Sonora, Mexico

by Mike Ferguson | Presbyterian News Service

Pastor “Chuy” Gallegos

LOUISVILLE ­— Pastor Jesus “Chuy” Gallegos Blanco passed away peacefully at his home on Sunday, Nov. 1. He was, according to his obituary published in the Longmont (Colorado) Leader, loved by many who are grieving the loss of his life. He was 63.

The Rev. Mark Adams, who came alongside Gallegos as coordinator at Frontera de Cristo in Douglas, Arizona, while Gallegos served in Agua Prieta, Sonora, Mexico, one of five Presbyterian Border Region Outreach sites, said among Gallegos’ first words to him upon reporting for duty in 1998 was this question: “Are you ready?”

“The reality is that I was not ready — not ready physically (I had just driven 2,000 miles), emotionally nor spiritually,” Adams said, having recently completed seminary and ordination as a teaching elder in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). “Despite not being ready, Pastor Chuy invited me to join him in learning what it meant to be part of a ministry that seeks to break the harmful paternalistic patterns of ministry and to live into the reality of a true partnership in ministry.”

“I had learned the importance of incarnational and relational ministry intellectually in seminary,” Adams said. “Chuy and his wife Rosario lived it and invited me to do the same. Relationships were central to his life and ministry, and he taught me that relationships — especially relationships across borders — take time, and healthy relationships cannot be based on money.”

Gallegos urged Adams to go speak to a large church in Arizona that had been supporting the ministry financially. “He asked me to invite them to come to the border and worship with us, to eat with us, to pray with us, to laugh with us, to know us. He said to tell them, ‘Your relationship is more important than your money.’”

Ministry begun by Gallegos and his wife “continue to bear much fruit here on the border and beyond,” Adams said, including New Hope Community Center; Agua Para La Vida, a new mission paradigm for mission delegations; Café Justo; and a self-governing and self-funding church “are just some of the ministries they helped birth,” Adams said.

“Pastor Chuy and his wife received me here on the border 22 years ago even though I was not ready,” Adams said. “They received me not just or primarily as a co-worker, but as family. They welcomed me, loved me, taught me and helped form me into who I am.”

“Pastor Chuy died on All Saints Sunday and has joined the great cloud of witnesses that have gone before us,” Adams said. “Join me in giving thanks to God for his life and ministry and in praying for Rosario and their children: Chuy Jr., Joca, and Susana.”

According to his obituary, Gallegos served at the Good Shepard Church in Tijuana, Mexico from 1983-1985; Berith Church in Chihuahua, Mexico from 1985-1990; Lilly of the Valley Church from 1990-1999; John Calvin Hispanic Ministry from 2005-2010; and Central Latinx Church from 2012 until he died. He was coordinator of Frontera de Cristo Border Ministry for more than a decade.

Friends said he had a great sense of humor and liked to tell jokes. At times it was difficult to understand him because he would laugh before even starting the joke. He had an extensive playlist that included hymns, protest songs, protest poetry, Christian music, ABBA, the Beatles, Spanish soft rock and more. He could fix anything and if he couldn’t, he would figure out how.

His friends described him as “a person who could keep the calm in the storm. He was a patient man and a good listener. He was a thinker and would always take his time before speaking.”

He was always concerned with injustice, especially for marginalized groups, including immigrants. He began many ministries in Mexico and the United States that continue to serve people and touch people’s lives, his friends and family noted.

Because of the pandemic, no service is planned at this time.